Wallan Basketball president Tracy Connors has been elected as Country Commission chairperson following the most recent Commission meeting.
Connors will step up as chairperson, taking the mantle from long-serving Country Commission chairperson Bill Jeffs who retired recently from the role.
A member of the Wallan Basketball Association, Connors has been active in the community across a number of years – currently serving as association president, working as a referee and volunteering in the Panthers’ community in various roles.
Connors looks forward to working with all country associations and Basketball Victoria to enhance pathways and programs across regional Victoria.
“I have been fortunate over the last four years to serve on the Country Commission and to now to be elected as chairperson is an amazing honour,” Connors said. “I’ve been part of country basketball throughout my life and want to help to find new ways to support our associations as they get back on their feet following the disruptions of the last two years.
“Having been around the game in country Victoria for my whole life, from growing up in Horsham to my current role with Wallan, I know the challenges that our associations are facing currently and need addressing.
“I have also seen the great impact that basketball has had on the community around regional Victoria and what our sport can do to benefit everyone across the state.
“It’s an amazing sport and I want to ensure regional Victorian players of all ages have plenty of opportunities to compete and excel in basketball in their own way.”
Coming out of the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, Connors will work with the other Country Commissioners to refocus on supporting country associations and work collaboratively with Basketball Victoria to increase participation across our pathway programs, competitions and tournaments.
“With the last couple of years being a huge challenge for our country associations, we want to work within our community – across all regional Victorian associations – in tandem with Basketball Victoria’s Association Development Officers (ADOs) to support our community,” Connors said.
“While it has been a challenging time in community sport, we have always found new ways to improve Victorian basketball across the regions and keep giving all country Victorians a chance to play basketball at their preferred level.”
